Frontier Partner Projects

The Gambia, a tiny sliver of land completely enveloped by Senegal, is easy to miss on a world map and yet has always remained one of the continent's top destinations for tourists looking for a welcoming, vibrant culture, bustling fishing villages and stunning beaches. It is characterised by the might of the eponymous Gambia river, a vast tract of water piercing the country through its heart and saturating the surrounding land with fresh water, ensuring flourishing ecosystems and forests brimming with every variety of flora and fauna, and an intriguing culture that has evolved from roots embedded in the artisanal fishing traditions. Visit this perfect pocket of an ancient continent to discover mysterious standing stones, tribal dancing, a dazzling array of wildlife and an African adventure that will be truly unforgettable!

Make a valued and long term contribution to the future of the local people whom you befriend in a community that lacks most of the basic educational resources. Help disadvantaged and marginalised communities by bringing them hope through education, immersing yourself in the culture through this incredibly rewarding experience.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Visit this little known corner of Africa

Make lifelong friends

Teach enthusiastic local children

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Minimum age of 18 years

FAST FACTS

Location

Madina Salaam, The Gambia

Activities

Teach English
working with children
Arranging extracurricular activities
Helping out staff at the school

WHAT DOES THE PROJECT DO?

This incredibly rewarding project looks to provide invaluable volunteer support to understaffed schools in The Gambia. This project is crucial to those schools in deprived areas that are under resourced and overcrowded. The project aims to increase the standard of education and literacy within the local area.

WHAT WILL I BE DOING?

Your work schedule will be challenging and varied, but always enjoyable, as you embark on your placement in a local community or government school. You will engage fully with your pupils, using your creativity and initiative to deliver a stimulating teaching programme.

You will benefit in terms of your personal and professional experience and will be encouraged to formulate ideas and develop your teaching skills and techniques. Working either with a local teacher or independently, you could be directly involved with marking pupils' work, preparing homework and assembling innovative and effective lesson plans.

There are a range of extracurricular activities you could organise, depending on your personal skills and interests – whether it is coaching a sports team, planning a school play, organising a choir, or conducting one to one tuition for children who are struggling. Just use your initiative and get the kids involved! Whatever you decide, you are sure to gain huge satisfaction from inspiring these underprivileged children, whilst enhancing your own skills and experience significantly.

Your detailed work programme will be agreed with your volunteer coordinator upon arrival.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ARRIVE?

Upon arrival at Banjul International Airport on the Saturday you will be met by our coordinator and taken to the project site.

WHERE WILL I BE STAYING?

Depending upon the time of your arrival, you will either be taken to a local hotel (if you arrive late at night) or directly to your welcoming homestay family. The homestay, where you will be given your own room, which may be shared with another volunteer, will be based within walking distance of your work placement. The accommodation will of course be clean and comfortable with all the basic amenities and your host family will be more than happy to help you with your Wolof and other local information to help you settle in.

WHAT WILL I BE EATING?

During your stay you will enjoy three meals a day, which you will normally share with your host family, with general emphasis on simple, home cooked dishes made with fresh local produce.

Food will be a mixture of European and traditional African cooking. The main crop of The Gambia is peanuts, with the result that they feature heavily in its cuisine. Traditional dishes include benachin or jollof rice, which is a traditional West African rice dish with onions, spices, tomatoes or tomato paste mixed with meat, fish or vegetables, chicken yassa, being chicken boiled with onion, black pepper and lime or lemon, and domoda, which is meat stew with rice and peanut butter sauce.

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Entertainment and various activities you can partake in with your family and local villagers may include African drumming, tie-dye, African dancing, yoga, bird watching, lots of fun games and traditional African entertainment. Your weekends will be free to visit other parts of the country and staff will be more than happy to help you organise this.

COSTS

2 weeks
US$
845

Extra week
US$
345

DEPARTURE DATES

Weekly, all year round

Please aim to arrive on a Saturday

DURATION

Volunteers can stay for a minimum of 2 weeks, with no maximum stay

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Before you go

Pre-departure support

Travel & medical advice & documentation

Equipment advice

Discounted medical kit

Free Frontier t-shirt

In-country

Airport pick-up & drop-off

Food

Accommodation

Local orientation

Project briefing

Ground transfers & in-transit accommodation

In-country emergency support

24-hour international HQ back-up

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Nearest airport(s):
Banjul (BJL)

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

Flights

Flights are not included in our project costs. However, Frontier have partnered with an experienced and professional team of travel experts to help our volunteers find the best flight deals for their trips with Frontier. This travel specialist operates in the tailor-made, long haul multi-stop travel market, arranging complex airfares and transfers for independent travellers. They provide expertise, security and a vast product range along with a Travel Butler service which is a single point of contact and support whilst you are overseas.

We recommend that you obtain a quote using the following contact details rather than book online, as our partner will offer you the most competitive fares. To receive your quote or to seek any advice for your flights, please contact Frontier’s dedicated team of travel experts on 0800 082 9994 (or +44 800 082 9994 outside the UK) or email frontier@flightcentre.co.uk
.

Visas

Depending on your destination country and your country of origin, you might require a visa. Please see the appropriate country consular website for details or contact our affiliate visa consultancy service. Please note that your visa will usually start on the date that you enter the destination country regardless of when it was issued. Please check with the relevant embassy or high commission. If you are purchasing your visa or paying entry/exit fees in-country you will probably need to pay in US Dollars. If you have any questions please consult the relevant embassy or high commission. Please check the visa information regularly, as changes often happen without warning.

Insurance

You'll need to buy appropriate travel insurance covering your participation on the
project. You won't be able to go without the right travel insurance so double check
to avoid disappointment. Please make sure that you're covered for the whole duration
of your trip – from the day you leave the UK to the day you return. It's also best
to get your travel insurance at the same time as paying the deposit for your project.
Depending on your policy, this will cover you for any unexpected cancellations.

Cancellation and curtailment of your trip (up to the value of your project contribution).

If you are going to be scuba diving you should get coverage for scuba diving up
to 30m, including hyperbaric therapy treatment (unlimited). You should consider
obtaining insurance to cover you for any additional activities which you plan to
do during, before, or after your Frontier project. We recommend that you obtain
cover for your baggage and personal effects.

LEGAL STATEMENT
Frontier Partner Projects and Frontier group projects are run in partnership with
in-country NGOs, small community based organisations, local research institutes,
academic organisations and conservation agencies. Project descriptions and information
are supplied directly by our partners or field staff and are accurate at time of
publishing.

We aim to keep information up to date and accurate, however, the nature of our projects
and in particular the fact that they are constantly evolving and developing in response
to changing needs means that project activities, travel schedules, tour itineraries
and daily timetables can change overnight and without notice.

To apply for this project, or to register your interest, just click on the orange "Apply Now!" button at the top of the menu. Fill out and submit a short application form and then one of our advisers will give you a call back to answer any questions and to progress your application if you wish to continue.

There is no obligation when making an application, and you do not need to pay anything at this point.